The National Physical Laboratory Postgraduate Institute and SEPnet Summer School took place on 4-5 June at the National Physical Laboratory, Bushy House in Teddington, Middlesex.

 Two days of interactive workshops:

·        Innovative Researcher:  Dr Jacque Durrant, Skillfluence;

·        Making Science Accessible; Dr Jess Wade. Imperial College, London;

·        Pitch like a Pro:  Leah Chapman, NPL University Liaison Manager;

·        Career Skills workshop using LEGO:  Dr Helen Murugan, Development Officer for PostGraduate Institute for Measurement Science and Linden Fradet Strategic Business Engagement Manager;

·        An industry innovation showcase networking evening celebrating 125 Years of NPL.

Thank you to NPL alumni guest speakers for insightful talks on their career paths:

 ·       Dr Rhian Canavan, Tritium Leader, UKAEA;

·        Dr Alex Hill, Senior Scientist & Optical Design Engineer, Max Planck Light & Photonics Precision Engineering;

·        Dr Ilana Wisby; Quantum and Deep Tech Entrepreneur, CEO, MOTH

Rhian and Ilana are both former SEPnet PGRs who had done SEPnet placements during their PhDs which had set them on their current paths.  They valued the experience and encouraged attendees to make the most of placement opportunities before the end of their PhDs. Ilana also attended SEPnet’s inaugural Summer School in July 2014 at NPL when she was a PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Thank you to Helen, Linden, the PGI Admin Team and the PGI ambassadors for inviting SEPnet to collaborate on this joint event and delivering a fantastic programme!

Great to see so many PGRs taking time away from their PhD studies!  Attendees said they were thankful to the organisers for “curating a dynamic and intellectually rich experience”.

SEPnet looks forward to collaborating in the future with NPL PGI!

The EDI Sharing Best Practice workshop took place on Wednesday the 14th of May at the University of Hertfordshire. It was attended by over 30 delegates from SEPnet Universities; Imperial College, Sheffield University and the University of York.

The theme of this year's workshop was Exploring the Changing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Landscape in Academia.

Thank you to all of our speakers: Sarah Bakewell, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the institute of Physics, Samantha Rolfe, Carrie Ricketts and Julia Ratcliffe from the University of Hertfordshire, Andrew Hirst , Co-Director at WRIPA, University of York, Matt Mears, University of Sheffield, Mathison Knight, PhD Student at University of Hertfordshire and Abbie Bray, University College London.

Thank you to the organisers Janice Hart, Shree Hari Mattal, Carrie Ricketts and Sam Rolfe.

Jim Geach, Head of the department of Physics, Astronomy & Mathematics at the University of Hertfordshire, opened the event, highlighting the benefits of SEPnet in bringing together smaller Physics departments to share their experiences and challenges. Samantha Rolfe and Carrie Ricketts, EDI Co-Chairs of the Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics department, chaired the event. Sarah Bakewell from the Institute of Physics, focused on the challenges of intersectionality, explaining the terminology, why we should promote an intersectional approach to inclusion and diversity and what actions we should take and how this fits with the Physics Inclusion Award. Julia Ratcliffe, Carrie Ricketts and Samantha Rolfe high lighted the interconnected process needed, as well as lessons learnt, in applying for the Athena Swan award. Andrew Mizumori-Hirst shared his findings on the variation in participation of different student groups in a Physics In Industry programme. Matt Mears discussed the Digital divide that exists in Physics Education, referencing research he had undertaken to analyse the code proficiency gap and what we could do to help all students. Mathison Knight gave an inspirational and thought provoking account of their personal journey whilst studying Maths. Dr Abbie Bray closed the event with an inspiring talk about the Power of Intersectionality, including personal experiences and success. Topics such as the Imposter Syndrome, Reasonable Adjustments, the leaky pipeline and outreach and inclusion were covered. Abbie shared her passion Orbyts, Orbyts believes that science should be truly inclusive for everyone, regardless of income-background, ethnicity, or gender. By pairing researchers with schools to empower school students, researchers, and teachers through inspirational science research partnership, addressing the Chronic Teacher Shortages, The Diversity Issues and the low calibre of Physics teachers.

Group discussion following the presentations included suggested commitments to learning more about intersectionality, challenging the idea of when to deliver career support and how to cultivate a sense of belonging within a Physics department.

To continue to contribute to this discussion, request to join SEPnet's Equality &Diversity Champions Network here.

Participants were grateful for the opportunity to attend the workshop and participate in the discussions.

Links to the Agenda and Individual presentations can be found here.